


The Lonely Mesmenir

by Fangirl_Shenanigans



Series: Final Fantasy XII: Short Story Collection [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: Exploration of Possibilites, Gen, Rewrite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-27
Updated: 2016-05-27
Packaged: 2018-07-10 11:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6983698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirl_Shenanigans/pseuds/Fangirl_Shenanigans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rewrite of The Lonely Sleipnir, a XII story I wrote a ways back and have since updated and altered to a point I actually like it.</p><p>Premise: Wounded in the Giza Plains, acting Judge Gabranth makes an unlikely bond with a creature once deemed too dangerous to approach under any circumstance. A lone Mesmenir that takes an interest in what his kind had been bred for: Rider's companionship.</p><p>As always the story is usually better than the summary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lonely Mesmenir

**Author's Note:**

> I would greatly appreciate feedback on this story. If this is even slightly successful I have plans to revamp several of my older stories from my old FF.net account, ratings varied of course. My primary concern is if the story fits the tone of XII and if it was at least enjoyable enough to read all the way through in the first place.
> 
> Writers cannot improve where constructive reviews do not linger.

**Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Final Fantasy XII or its characters, places, creatures, etc. The only thing I own is the thought process behind this story. This is a non-profit story, meaning no monetary gain or other type of gain but my own satisfaction was made.**

* * *

 

Basch Fon Ronsenburg let a frustrated sigh escape his lips as he found himself once again wandering alone through the Dalmascan Westersand in search of the young Emperor Larsa. The armor that once belonged to his brother made the heat of the dessert nearly unbearable, between the sheer weight of the metal and leathers and the dark color of the materials it was little surprise that the sun tormented him so. It did ill for his current state of affairs that they had chosen to travel during the dry season, but he knew the rainy season would probably have been worse

‘Between losing track of Lord Larsa and Judge Zargabaath, full armor in Dalmascan heat and the battle with the Werewolf triad in the ‘Starfall Field’, it is little wonder why I feel as if I have lost much strength.’ The wheat-haired Hume mused to himself as he gingerly traversed the Giza Plains. Basch winced as he stepped down, pain radiating down his leg from his injured thigh. Despite the slow healing effects of ‘Regen’ and the weak ‘Cure’ he’d been able to cast, the injuries from his battle made the search all the more difficult. A stab wound in his left thigh where the armor couldn’t cover sufficiently made walking difficult, but he knew from his various misadventures in the wilds that staying in once place would not be wise. It was the strike that had managed to pierce the swordsman’s breastplate that truly grieved him. While the wound had missed his heart, the pain made it nigh impossible to raise let alone swing his right arm.

A piercing whinny pulled him from the pain-filled fog he had almost allowed to steal his senses. As quickly as he was physically able, Basch hid behind one of the large sun crysts that adorned the plains in hopes of avoiding another confrontation when he could barely continue walking let alone participate in combat. Grey-blue eyes scanned over the edge of the sun crystal to see a rare sight. A lone Mesmenir, a larger violet and white striped strain of Sleipnir that usually roamed only within the Ozmone Plains and generally in groups of three or more. The large equine creature was alone; its brilliantly armored body shining dimly in the midday sunlight of the desert. A smile tugged at the blond’s lips as he took in the magnificence of the powerfully muscled body. Basch could recall watching a herd of Mesmenir with Noah when they were but boys visiting the Garif with their father on a trading expedition.

Discomfort and pain reared their ugly heads once more, making the Landis-born Hume once more aware of himself. A sharp hiss twisted from his lips as he doubled-over, dropping his helm and weapons as his hands pressed against his chest of their own accord. Darkness overtook him, the last thing he saw was the large armored creature approaching.

The Mesmenir slowly approached the smell of Hume blood, curiously seeking the source. Looking down carefully behind the rocks, the creature made out a light-haired Hume wearing a heavy armor. Warily it nudged the Hume’s body with one powerful leg, trying to ascertain if the wounded Hume was dead or simply unconscious. The Mesmenir was lonely, having been abandoned by his herd. So he had made the decision to leave the Ozmone Plain, curiosity turning him to Giza where Humes were more common than his own kin. Hoping the Hume below him would maybe ease the loneliness, he waited patiently to see if his nudging would beget a response.

A soft pained groan alerted the beast to the Hume’s living state, though he pondered how much longer the injured Hume had. The Mesmenir knew it needed to get the Hume to others of its kind or there would be no chance to befriend him. Carefully he rolled Basch onto his side, hoping it would make it easier for the man to grab onto his mane assuming he got the message. Bleary eyes looked up slowly at the massive creature then to the way the front legs were curled under the beast. Coherency slipped into his grasp and he used what strength was left to him to grip the strong destier mane with one armored hand, replacing his helm with the other as the equine gently rose up pulling him to his feet. Once his helm was replaced, Basch grunted as he knelt enough to retrieve his weapons placing them back in their holsters before daring to look at the deep grey eye peering at him from under the armor coating the Mesmenir’s head.

“Would you bear a rider?”

The response to the question was the beast backing him in the direction of a rock that would allow him to easily climb over the creature’s back to mount him. Basch was immediately thankful, giving a soft stroke down the powerful neck before carefully hoisting himself onto the first of any recorded Sleipnir to permit a rider. Careful of its wounded cargo, the Mesmenir began a slow trot until he felt the Hume slump forward. A pauldron effectively stuck on his mane, it told him that the Hume was both unconscious again and would not fall if he went faster. Soon he broke into a full gallop, following the smell of more Humes and hoping they were of the friendly sort for the sake of the man who was brave enough to mount him.

Judge Zargabaath had been in a slight panic, he had been separated from both the young Emperor Larsa and from Judge Gabranth as well. Deciding it was best to go to their initial rendezvous point of the Nomad Village, where as luck seemed to have it he came across their young charge.

“Excellency, I see you have deigned show yourself to your protection detail once more.” The judge stated by way of greeting the young man. Larsa gave the man an apologetic smile, of the original Judge Magisters only Zargabaath remained. To Larsa he had always felt as a great teacher and to have a good heart and mind.

“I am sorry; I just wanted to properly explore the Giza Plains as I had not the opportunity the last I was in Dalmasca. I promise I will try not to wander off on my own again Zargabaath. It seems that you and Gabranth became separated in my absence; has there been no word of him?”

Zargabaath’s answer remained unspoken as a large shadow soon merged with theirs upon the desert’s sand. Many of the villagers quickly moved behind the elder, wary of the shadow’s owner. Even through his helm, he could recognize their visitor for what it was; he had seen many a Mesmenir in his lifetime though none of them had been an encounter quite like this occurrence.

A painfully choked groan soon arrested their attention as the large animal turned so his side was facing them, allowing them to see his wounded rider. Larsa and Zargabaath worked together to carefully ease him free of the Mesmenir’s mane as it knelt so they could better reach the injured judge and remove him for treatment.

“What could have caused such a strange anomaly Zargabaath? Normally Mesmenir travel in herds and openly attack Humes. What would cause this kind of change in their behavior?” Larsa asked, petting the smoother part of its armored neck knowing to stay out of Zargabaath’s way when he was in ‘medic mode’ as he affectionately called it. Aside from knowing how to utilize Hi-Potions, Larsa himself was not well-versed in medicine.

“It is difficult to say; perhaps he was lonely and acted upon the instinct that his ancestors were originally bred for. They were after all, mounts and freight creatures long ago. I daresay that this one seems smart enough to realize only other people could help Gabranth.” Zargabaath replied as he finally managed to unfasten and remove all of the armor from the blond’s upper body and was inspecting the injury to make sure the leather shirt beneath was not sticking to the wound badly enough to have to cut away with a blade. Luckily the leather turtleneck was easily removed though Zargabaath could hardly suppress a shudder looking at the gaping angry wound to his right shoulder just shy of anything vital but still if not for the few spells he could sense he knew he would have soon found himself burying both of the Ronsenburg twins in the span of only one year. Half of the wound was already a scar. After removing his own gauntlets and gloves, he began to properly clean the wound before dressing it to prevent even the remote chance of infection.

“Will he be alright Zargabaath?” Larsa asked, praying he would not yet lose another person he cherished to death’s cold embrace. Zargabaath removed his helmet and gave the young emperor a reassuring smile then startled at the angry snort from the Mesmenir as it stomped on the ground trying to get the Hume’s attention. One hoof gingerly nudged Basch’s wounded thigh, drawing attention to the wound that had not yet been noticed. Zargabaath quickly set up a tent for some semblance of privacy before moving his patient inside to get him stripped down to properly treat the wound. After a while he exited the tent with the same reassuring smile back on his face.

“All will be fine so long as he rests, though he could end up feverish during the night. Sadly I cannot say his health is quite up to par, I may have to take control of his diet myself if he doesn’t put on another ten pounds by winter. I believe we can postpone the rest of our voyage to Rabanastre ere morning’s coming.” Zargabaath said as he took down the tent and arranged it under his fellow Judge Magister’s head having already redressed him in some light cotton clothing while he attempted to mend the damaged armor. Larsa pulled a thin wool blanket from their belongings and draped it over him then watched in ill hidden awe as the Mesmenir who had waited patiently moved and lay down on his folded legs behind Basch’s head and took a stance as if watching over the blond with his hidden grey eyes.

“I think we should turn in as well Zargabaath.”

“Aye, the more rested we are the easier it should be to explain our situation to Her Majesty.”

T’was a soft hoarse rasping that took the Mesmenir out of his vigil over the slumbering Hume, turning his head he noticed a fine coat of moisture now covered the man’s face and that the sound was his breathing becoming irregular. The equine quickly rose from his position and tore a piece of cloth from the blanket and quickly cantered towards the small stream he saw at the edge of the village. Quickly he dipped the cloth into the water until it dripped as he pulled it back and returned swiftly to the blond’s side. Larsa was awake and was clearly worried for the older Hume. Deep indigo eyes looked from Basch to the dripping piece of fabric in the Mesmenir’s jaws.

“Is that for Basch?”

The Mesmenir nodded before passing the cloth to the hume-child who then rang it out with a soft smile for the creature before gently dabbing at the feverish man’s face. The animal lay down beside Basch once more and started to gently nudge his uninjured shoulder with the surprisingly flexible tail. Basch slowly rose from the sea of unconsciousness between the cool soothing sensation and the incessant nudging that bade him to wake up.

“Lord Larsa?” Basch inquired softly, trying to sit forward only to have a soft touch from a heavy hooved leg stop him. The close proximity to the mighty creature shocked him, he was almost certain he had dreamed up the entire encounter due to hallucinations caused by blood loss. The soft glow of the night’s moon made the animal look as if it was smiling sadly as he felt it nudge him once again.

Reaching up one hand, Basch slowly scratched the soft underside of the creature’s neck where it met the lower mandible and chuckled softly at the pleased whinny.

“You saved me my friend, you deserve my gratitude.” Eventually, despite the protests from Larsa, Basch managed to sit up and was surprised to feel a strong arm pull him forward against a sturdy torso and neck as if imitating with that one limb a hug. Basch could only smile and wrap his arms around the animal in kind, something he had done to many an animal no matter his age. Growing up he had been known to carry a baby Cockatrice around in his arms.

The next morning they were due to depart for Rabanastre, a reasonably short trip if they were not waylaid by any further incidents. The Mesmenir lowered his head as the three Humes headed towards the royal city, his new friends were leaving and he doubted his kind’s reputation would allow an exception to be made for him to go with them. Then he saw the one they referred to as ‘Gabranth’ stop and speak with the others before dismounting his Chocobo and returning to stand before him, removing his helmet so his hazel-blue eyes looked directly at him.

“If you would bear a rider,” the judge started, “then you may accompany me until you no longer wish to be with me.”

The Mesmenir reared, kicking his front legs happily in the air before returning to all fours and kneeling on his front legs so that the man could once again mount him. Carefully and with more mobility than their first encounter, Basch placed one hand on the animal’s hindquarters and the other on its withers and hoisted himself up swinging a leg over until he was sitting properly upon the large creature. Now that he was aware of his surroundings, Basch could feel the differences between the Mesmenir and the Chocobo and decided he definitely preferred the four-legged mount to the commonplace bird.

“You deserve to have a name. You are kind and patient, there is one name I can think of that suits one such as you.”

The Mesmenir tilted his head curiously even as he obeyed the gentle urge forward as he trotted to catch up to the other Humes and their Chocobo mounts.

“I have the feeling we were destined to meet, Reks.”

Reks watched from the heavens with a soft smile, honored that his existence had meant enough to his Captain to warrant the passing of his name to another regardless of the species. Who was he to complain, his name went to a creature he knew would serve the Captain well. Vaan had turned out fine and no longer bore his misplaced grudge, all was well and the lonely Mesmenir had found the one friend he knew would cherish him.


End file.
